Flying-fox program recognised at state excellence awards

BYRON Shire Council’s No Bat No Me project has won a Highly Commended award at the 2024 Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards.

The WIRES-funded community engagement project aims to teach people about flying foxes’ crucial role in the natural environment.

The Council’s Biodiversity Project Officer Claudia Caliari said the recognition was a wonderful way to celebrate the flying-fox education program.

“Flying foxes are long-distance pollinators; they disperse seeds and create habitats for many other important species, and they are fascinating,” Caliari said.

“The clearing of habitat means flying fox colonies are found in some urban areas of the Byron Shire, and the No Bat No Me focused on education about these fascinating native animals and the challenges this can cause.

“We took a very broad approach, talking to children in preschools and schools, going to Splendour in the Grass and other events, as well as through advertising and social media,” she said.

A grey-headed flying fox can travel over 2,500 km a year and up to 100km in one night. As nomadic creatures, they favour switching between camps as forest flowers bloom.

Much of the region’s significant vegetation is flying-fox dependent, having co-evolved with flying foxes over 25-40 million years.

Numbers have declined by up to 30 per cent over the past decade, with habitat clearing and bushfires presenting the biggest threats to the species.

Before 2021, shooting flying foxes was legal in some areas, reducing population numbers.

Entanglement in fruit netting and barbed wire are also major causes of flying fox injuries and death.

“This award reflects the strong collaboration between Council, WIRES and wildlife volunteers, particularly Lib Ruytenberg and Annie Crowley, local schools, flying fox educators and wildlife rescuers whose contributions were essential to the success of the project,” Caliari said.